Some description fixes

There are many more packages to fix, this is just a start.

Rules:
 * Don't repeat the package name (not always that easy...)
 * Start with capital letter
 * Don't end with full stop
 * Don't start with "The ..." or "A ..."

I've also added descriptions to some packages and rewritten others.

70 files changed, 87 insertions, 64 deletions

diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/a2jmidid/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/a2jmidid/default.nix
index ca8565ac3238e..f6c17e6d8ed54 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/a2jmidid/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/a2jmidid/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     homepage = http://home.gna.org/a2jmidid;
-    description = "daemon for exposing legacy ALSA sequencer applications in JACK MIDI system";
+    description = "Daemon for exposing legacy ALSA sequencer applications in JACK MIDI system";
     license = licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.goibhniu ];
 
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/abcde/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/abcde/default.nix
index c6b5e9da0dd73..031b0fe93b597 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/abcde/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/abcde/default.nix
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ in
     meta = {
       homepage = "http://lly.org/~rcw/abcde/page/";
       license = "GPLv2+";
-      description = "A Better CD Encoder (ABCDE)";
+      description = "Command-line audio CD ripper";
 
       longDescription = ''
         abcde is a front-end command-line utility (actually, a shell
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/audacious/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/audacious/default.nix
index 9ae2fcdd20edf..6846607d61db2 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/audacious/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/audacious/default.nix
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Audacious, a media player forked from the Beep Media Player, which was itself an XMMS fork";
+    description = "Audio player";
     homepage = http://audacious-media-player.org/;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ eelco simons ];
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/aumix/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/aumix/default.nix
index d69d9d4713369..1e19a3ac5c39d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/aumix/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/aumix/default.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ++ (if gtkGUI then [pkgconfig gtk] else []);
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Aumix, an audio mixer for X and the console";
+    description = "Audio mixer for X and the console";
     longDescription = ''
       Aumix adjusts an audio mixer from X, the console, a terminal,
       the command line or a script.
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/abook/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/abook/default.nix
index 09345576487ee..3d187d92f5c6f 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/abook/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/abook/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://abook.sourceforge.net/";
-    description = "Abook is a text-based addressbook program designed to use with mutt mail client.";
+    description = "Text-based addressbook program designed to use with mutt mail client";
     license = "GPLv2";
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.edwtjo ];
     platforms = with stdenv.lib.platforms; linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/bittorrentsync/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/bittorrentsync/default.nix
index 25a23b019d844..c2d2f28751a72 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/bittorrentsync/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/bittorrentsync/default.nix
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://labs.bittorrent.com/experiments/sync.html";
-    description = "Automatically sync files via secure, distributed technology.";
+    description = "Automatically sync files via secure, distributed technology";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.unfree;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.iElectric ];
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/ids/bro/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/ids/bro/default.nix
index 6e70e106d26e9..d60d39ac028d3 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/ids/bro/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/ids/bro/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
   
   meta = {
-    description = "Bro is a powerful network analysis framework that is much different from the typical IDS you may know.";
+    description = "Powerful network analysis framework that is much different from the typical IDS you may know";
     homepage = http://www.bro.org/;
     license = "BSD";
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/amsn/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/amsn/default.nix
index 07aa20ff1f319..fc7906b3e4026 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/amsn/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/instant-messengers/amsn/default.nix
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
+    description = "Instant messaging (MSN Messenger clone)";
     homepage = http://amsn-project.net;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/office/abiword/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/office/abiword/default.nix
index a500bbaa240b1..0e5a6afcdc5f8 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/office/abiword/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/office/abiword/default.nix
@@ -26,4 +26,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     [ pkgconfig gtk libglade librsvg bzip2 libgnomecanvas fribidi libpng popt
       libgsf enchant wv libjpeg
     ];
+
+  meta = {
+    description = "Word processing program, similar to Microsof Word";
+  };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/office/antiword/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/office/antiword/default.nix
index c4da2b609ce76..f889490a862c4 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/office/antiword/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/office/antiword/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.winfield.demon.nl/";
-    description = "convert MS Word documents to plain text or PostScript";
+    description = "Convert MS Word documents to plain text or PostScript";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
 
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.simons ];
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/biology/arb/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/biology/arb/default.nix
index 1b4563555c468..279091f21bd24 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/biology/arb/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/biology/arb/default.nix
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description     = "ARB software for sequence database handling and analysis";
+    description     = "Software for sequence database handling and analysis";
     longDescription = ''The ARB software is a graphically oriented package comprising various tools for sequence database handling and data analysis. A central database of processed (aligned) sequences and any type of additional data linked to the respective sequence entries is structured according to phylogeny or other user defined criteria. Note that this package includes its own older versions of clustal etc.''; 
     license     = "non-free";
     pkgMaintainer = "http://BioLib.open-bio.org/";
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/chemistry/avogadro/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/chemistry/avogadro/default.nix
index f4b353296fdc5..dd6c0eaa3763d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/chemistry/avogadro/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/chemistry/avogadro/default.nix
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = "-include ${mesa}/include/GL/glu.h";
 
   meta = {
+    description = "Molecule editor and visualizer";
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.urkud ];
     inherit (qt4.meta) platforms;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/electronics/alliance/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/electronics/alliance/default.nix
index 90fd5901cac7f..ee22c66dfec0d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/electronics/alliance/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/electronics/alliance/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-      description = "Complete set of free CAD tools and portable libraries for VLSI design.";
+      description = "Complete set of free CAD tools and portable libraries for VLSI design";
       homepage = http://www-asim.lip6.fr/recherche/alliance/;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
index 51505d6143993..6c8ec9e68c53b 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.r-project.org/";
-    description = "a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics";
+    description = "Free software environment for statistical computing and graphics";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2Plus;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/version-management/bazaar/tools.nix b/pkgs/applications/version-management/bazaar/tools.nix
index 5a4b706f418ab..19a00d2b8415d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/version-management/bazaar/tools.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/version-management/bazaar/tools.nix
@@ -15,6 +15,6 @@ rec {
       
   name = "bzr-tools-${version}";
   meta = {
-    description = "Bazaar plugins.";
+    description = "Bazaar plugins";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/data/fonts/anonymous-pro/default.nix b/pkgs/data/fonts/anonymous-pro/default.nix
index df98d8197f5d5..21a1c9bf5c857 100644
--- a/pkgs/data/fonts/anonymous-pro/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/data/fonts/anonymous-pro/default.nix
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ rec {
   '') ["addInputs"];
       
   meta = {
-    description = "A TrueType font set intended for source code";
+    description = "TrueType font set intended for source code";
     maintainers = with a.lib.maintainers;
     [
       raskin
diff --git a/pkgs/data/fonts/arkpandora/default.nix b/pkgs/data/fonts/arkpandora/default.nix
index be1292204ad77..7394dce551bae 100644
--- a/pkgs/data/fonts/arkpandora/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/data/fonts/arkpandora/default.nix
@@ -17,6 +17,6 @@ rec {
       
   name = "arkpandora-" + version;
   meta = {
-    description = "ArkPandora fonts, metrically identical to Arial and Times New Roman.";
+    description = "Font, metrically identical to Arial and Times New Roman";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/aldor/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/aldor/default.nix
index fcd0c9fd453d4..57d1bf74154e9 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/aldor/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/aldor/default.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.aldor.org/";
-    description = "Aldor is a programming language with an expressive type system";
+    description = "Programming language with an expressive type system";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.asl20;
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/clean/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/clean/default.nix
index bd051a95699e3..7f3e679e84763 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/clean/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/clean/default.nix
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Clean is a general purpose, state-of-the-art, pure and lazy functional programming language.";
+    description = "General purpose, state-of-the-art, pure and lazy functional programming language";
     longDescription = ''
       Clean is a general purpose, state-of-the-art, pure and lazy functional
       programming language designed for making real-world applications. Some
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/angelscript/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/angelscript/default.nix
index a092172c8ca78..22f92f40183e4 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/angelscript/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/angelscript/default.nix
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ rec {
   '' ["defEnsureDir" "prepareBuild"];
       
   meta = {
-    description = "A light-weight scripting library";
+    description = "Light-weight scripting library";
     maintainers = with a.lib.maintainers;
     [
       raskin
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/Xaw3d/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/Xaw3d/default.nix
index a0603b546cf6e..454c4e882f56c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/Xaw3d/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/Xaw3d/default.nix
@@ -10,4 +10,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   patches = [./config.patch ./laylex.patch];
   buildInputs = [x11 imake gccmakedep libXmu libXpm libXp bison flex];
   propagatedBuildInputs = [x11 libXmu];
+
+  meta = {
+    description = "3D widget set based on the Athena Widget set";
+  };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/a52dec/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/a52dec/default.nix
index 82fef49cfc108..84a87df03e40f 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/a52dec/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/a52dec/default.nix
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = "-fpic";
 
   meta = {
+    description = "ATSC A/52 stream decoder";
     homepage = http://liba52.sourceforge.net/;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/aalib/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/aalib/default.nix
index 2da006a6cebe4..897fc9db8de1c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/aalib/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/aalib/default.nix
@@ -15,4 +15,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   buildInputs = [ncurses];
   inherit ncurses;
+
+  meta = {
+    description = "ASCII art graphics library";
+  };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/agg/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/agg/default.nix
index 8c24ae6fdbeeb..59124f011dd4e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/agg/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/agg/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   configureFlags = "--x-includes=${libX11}/include --x-libraries=${libX11}/lib";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "The Anti-Grain Geometry (AGG) library, a high quality rendering engine for C++";
+    description = "High quality rendering engine for C++";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Anti-Grain Geometry (AGG) is an Open Source, free of charge
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/apache-activemq/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/apache-activemq/default.nix
index 90d0dafdd9526..d55ff9049eda4 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/apache-activemq/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/apache-activemq/default.nix
@@ -22,9 +22,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://activemq.apache.org/;
-    description = ''
-      Messaging and Integration Patterns server written in Java.
-    '';
+    description = "Messaging and Integration Patterns server written in Java";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.asl20;
   };
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/aspell/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/aspell/default.nix
index dd8b68717aae3..a69cee99b2b69 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/aspell/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/aspell/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   # doesn't expand environment variables such as `$HOME'.
 
   meta = {
-    description = "GNU Aspell, A spell checker for many languages";
+    description = "Spell checker for many languages";
     homepage = http://aspell.net/;
     license = "LGPLv2+";
     maintainers = [ ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/atk/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/atk/default.nix
index f4c33c869112c..0c9e998ed2e12 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/atk/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/atk/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   postInstall = "rm -rf $out/share/gtk-doc";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "ATK, the accessibility toolkit";
+    description = "Accessibility toolkit";
 
     longDescription = ''
       ATK is the Accessibility Toolkit.  It provides a set of generic
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/attica/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/attica/default.nix
index 87f6c019fb759..3174dc57667dc 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/attica/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/attica/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   nativeBuildInputs = [ cmake ];
   
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "A library to access Open Collaboration Service providers";
+    description = "Library to access Open Collaboration Service providers";
     license = "LGPL";
     maintainers = [ maintainers.sander maintainers.urkud maintainers.phreedom ];
     inherit (qt4.meta) platforms;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/aubio/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/aubio/default.nix
index 91d27254aedef..abfb3985f261c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/aubio/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/aubio/default.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ];
 
   meta = { 
-    description = "A library for audio labelling";
+    description = "Library for audio labelling";
     homepage = http://aubio.org/;
     license = "GPLv2";
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.marcweber ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/audiofile/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/audiofile/default.nix
index 2f4de88c94c2b..73f38f028145c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/audiofile/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/audiofile/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "A library for reading and writing audio files in various formats";
+    description = "Library for reading and writing audio files in various formats";
     homepage    = http://www.68k.org/~michael/audiofile/; 
     license     = licenses.lgpl21Plus;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ lovek323 shlevy ];
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/avahi/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/avahi/default.nix
index f62dc2004476d..f4795286e096f 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/avahi/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/avahi/default.nix
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "Avahi, an mDNS/DNS-SD implementation";
+    description = "mDNS/DNS-SD implementation";
     homepage    = http://avahi.org;
     license     = licenses.lgpl2Plus;
     platforms   = platforms.unix;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/bwidget/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/bwidget/default.nix
index 31dc885bc4336..17f2b545168e3 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/bwidget/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/bwidget/default.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://tcl.activestate.com/software/tcllib/";
-    description = "The BWidget toolkit is a high-level widget set for Tcl/Tk.";
+    description = "High-level widget set for Tcl/Tk";
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.tcltk;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/classads/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/classads/default.nix
index 5739690e59a10..080e854315dcc 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/classads/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/classads/default.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.cs.wisc.edu/condor/classad/;
-    description = "The Classified Advertisements library provides a generic means for matching resources.";
+    description = "The Classified Advertisements library provides a generic means for matching resources";
     license = "Apache-2.0";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/misc/avr-gcc-with-avr-libc/default.nix b/pkgs/development/misc/avr-gcc-with-avr-libc/default.nix
index 3c28ed04dba2b..5218f5b774483 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/misc/avr-gcc-with-avr-libc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/misc/avr-gcc-with-avr-libc/default.nix
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   };
 
   meta = { 
-      description = "avr gcc developement environment including binutils, avr-gcc and avr-libc";
+      description = "AVR developement environment including binutils, avr-gcc and avr-libc";
       # I've tried compiling the packages separately.. too much hassle. This just works. Fine.
       license =  ["GPL" "LGPL"]; # see single packages ..
       homepage = []; # dito
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/checkstyle/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/checkstyle/default.nix
index 09656dc520a85..1dfaa5cf875ba 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/checkstyle/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/analysis/checkstyle/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,12 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "A development tool to help programmers write Java code that adheres to a coding standard. By default it supports the Sun Code Conventions, but is highly configurable." ;
+    description = "Checks Java source against a coding standard";
+    longDescription = ''
+      checkstyle is a development tool to help programmers write Java code that
+      adheres to a coding standard. By default it supports the Sun Code
+      Conventions, but is highly configurable.
+    '';
     homepage = http://checkstyle.sourceforge.net/;
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/apache-ant/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/apache-ant/default.nix
index 034285522292e..c14e09e25b7f9 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/apache-ant/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/apache-ant/default.nix
@@ -23,4 +23,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     url = "mirror://apache/ant/binaries/apache-ant-${version}-bin.tar.bz2";
     sha1 = "d9e3e83dd9664cfe1dcd4841c082db3f559af922";
   };
+
+  meta = {
+    description = "Java-based build tool";
+  };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/apache-ant/from-source.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/apache-ant/from-source.nix
index 01fdd5541ecf5..14213415ff846 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/apache-ant/from-source.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/build-managers/apache-ant/from-source.nix
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ EOF
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Apache Ant, a Java-based build tool";
+    description = "Java-based build tool";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Apache Ant is a Java-based build tool.  In theory, it is kind of like
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/casperjs/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/casperjs/default.nix
index f140f0d7862d9..60e680a60fcdc 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/casperjs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/casperjs/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Navigation scripting & testing utility for PhantomJS.";
+    description = "Navigation scripting & testing utility for PhantomJS";
     longDescription = ''
       CasperJS is a navigation scripting & testing utility for PhantomJS.
       It eases the process of defining a full navigation scenario and provides useful high-level
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/astyle/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/astyle/default.nix
index 9b1e995573245..6128406bbe5b1 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/astyle/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/astyle/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://astyle.sourceforge.net/";
-    description = "source code reformatter";
+    description = "Source code indenter, formatter, and beautifier for C, C++, C# and Java";
     license = "LGPL";
 
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autobuild/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autobuild/default.nix
index f8497b5deced7..88246e4bb6eb1 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autobuild/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autobuild/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Simon Josefsson's Autobuild, a continuous integration tool";
+    description = "Continuous integration tool";
 
     longDescription = ''
       Autobuild is a package that process output from building
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autoconf/2.13.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autoconf/2.13.nix
index 1dfe4d4a0a7b2..2d8169d408fe6 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autoconf/2.13.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autoconf/2.13.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/autoconf/;
-    description = "GNU Autoconf, a part of the GNU Build System";
+    description = "Part of the GNU Build System";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Autoconf is an extensible package of M4 macros that produce
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autoconf/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autoconf/default.nix
index b4de66d9bafc9..08fcd95afb5e7 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autoconf/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autoconf/default.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/autoconf/;
-    description = "GNU Autoconf, a part of the GNU Build System";
+    description = "Part of the GNU Build System";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Autoconf is an extensible package of M4 macros that produce
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autogen/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autogen/default.nix
index 25fa29526c9bf..cd4f19694b2e9 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autogen/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/autogen/default.nix
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ let version = "5.17"; in
     #doCheck = true; # 2 tests fail because of missing /dev/tty
 
     meta = {
-      description = "GNU AutoGen, an automated text and program generation tool";
+      description = "Automated text and program generation tool";
 
       longDescription = ''
         AutoGen is a tool designed to simplify the creation and maintenance
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.10.x.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.10.x.nix
index c015c0115fe42..80b033425a13b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.10.x.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.10.x.nix
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/automake/;
-    description = "GNU Automake, a GNU standard-compliant makefile generator";
+    description = "GNU standard-compliant makefile generator";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Automake is a tool for automatically generating
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.11.x.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.11.x.nix
index 91c27deb8b825..0af9877c93552 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.11.x.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.11.x.nix
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/automake/;
-    description = "GNU Automake, a GNU standard-compliant makefile generator";
+    description = "GNU standard-compliant makefile generator";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Automake is a tool for automatically generating
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.12.x.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.12.x.nix
index bd609c4a40d3b..8bee4790bcb75 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.12.x.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.12.x.nix
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/automake/;
-    description = "GNU Automake, a GNU standard-compliant makefile generator";
+    description = "GNU standard-compliant makefile generator";
 
     longDescription = ''
       GNU Automake is a tool for automatically generating
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.13.x.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.13.x.nix
index 400d554b65e2b..96a93e8d60b58 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.13.x.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/automake/automake-1.13.x.nix
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.gnu.org/software/automake/";
-    description = "GNU Automake, a GNU standard-compliant makefile generator";
+    description = "GNU standard-compliant makefile generator";
     license = "GPLv2+";
 
     longDescription = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/avarice/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/avarice/default.nix
index bc3785181a8ff..e2c4c89e9987e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/avarice/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/avarice/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl2;
-    description = "AVaRICE translates between GDB's remote debug protocol and the AVR JTAG ICE protocol";
+    description = "Translator between GDB's remote debug protocol and the AVR JTAG ICE protocol";
     homepage = http://sourceforge.net/projects/avarice/files/avarice/;
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.smironov ];
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ccache/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ccache/default.nix
index 2cd00f51d9d49..05a0d9bbeb50e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ccache/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ccache/default.nix
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "ccache, a tool that caches compilation results.";
+    description = "Compiler cache for fast recompilation of C/C++ code";
     homepage = http://ccache.samba.org/;
     license = "GPL";
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/games/blobby/default.nix b/pkgs/games/blobby/default.nix
index 7e4f6b00587bd..faf7366f2494a 100644
--- a/pkgs/games/blobby/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/games/blobby/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = ''A blobby volleyball game.'';
+    description = ''A blobby volleyball game'';
     license = with stdenv.lib.licenses; bsd3;
     platforms = with stdenv.lib.platforms; linux;
     maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [raskin];
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/acpi/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/acpi/default.nix
index 6bb44d7db449d..d694a9e5ed24d 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/acpi/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/acpi/default.nix
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   meta = {
+    description = "Show battery status and other ACPI information";
     longDescription = ''
       Linux ACPI client is a small command-line
       program that attempts to replicate the functionality of
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/apparmor/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/apparmor/default.nix
index da71eb8c7095a..858be431a91d7 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/apparmor/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/apparmor/default.nix
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     homepage = http://apparmor.net/;
-    description = "A Linux application security system";
+    description = "Linux application security system";
     license = licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.phreedom ];
     platforms = platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/apcupsd/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/apcupsd/default.nix
index 877be1d74b8ac..4ccb1b069c93f 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/apcupsd/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/apcupsd/default.nix
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "A daemon for controlling APC UPSes";
+    description = "Daemon for controlling APC UPSes";
     homepage = http://www.apcupsd.com/;
     license = licenses.gpl2;
     platforms = platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/X11/autocutsel/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/X11/autocutsel/default.nix
index f4776933e53d0..bc7679b1670e0 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/X11/autocutsel/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/X11/autocutsel/default.nix
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.nongnu.org/autocutsel/";
-    description = "Autocutsel tracks changes in the server's cutbuffer and CLIPBOARD selection.";
+    description = "Tracks changes in the server's cutbuffer and CLIPBOARD selection";
     license = "GPLv2+";
     platforms = with stdenv.lib.platforms; all;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/X11/bgs/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/X11/bgs/default.nix
index a3fff2bc50b03..0c6951aa3e76e 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/X11/bgs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/X11/bgs/default.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   preConfigure = ''sed -i "s@PREFIX = /usr/local@PREFIX = $out@g" config.mk'';
 
   meta = { 
-      description = "bgs is an extremely fast and small background setter for X.";
+      description = "Extremely fast and small background setter for X";
       license = "MIT";
       platforms = with stdenv.lib.platforms; all;
       maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [pSub]; 
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/admin/analog/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/admin/analog/default.nix
index debd6e4c2b779..ec139e7240d3a 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/admin/analog/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/admin/analog/default.nix
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   meta = {
     homepage = "http://www.analog.cx/";
     license = "GPL";
-    description = "a powerful tool to generate web server statistics";
+    description = "Powerful tool to generate web server statistics";
     maintainers = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.simons ];
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
   };
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/archivemount/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/archivemount/default.nix
index c05d2e98af32f..8c7593121bbea 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/archivemount/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/archivemount/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   buildInputs = [ pkgconfig fuse libarchive ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Gateway between FUSE and libarchive: allows mounting of cpio, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2 archives.";
+    description = "Gateway between FUSE and libarchive: allows mounting of cpio, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2 archives";
     license = "GPL2";
 
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/graphics/argyllcms/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/graphics/argyllcms/default.nix
index 934a27ef25b76..d9eed4df224a3 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/graphics/argyllcms/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/graphics/argyllcms/default.nix
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     homepage = http://www.argyllcms.com;
-    description = "An ICC compatible color management system";
+    description = "Color management system (compatible with ICC)";
     license = licenses.gpl3;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.rickynils ];
     platforms = platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/autojump/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/autojump/default.nix
index 5371ac55adba8..a92b4ae3b1bbd 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/autojump/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/autojump/default.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ in
     '';
 
     meta = {
-      description = "Autojump, a `cd' command that learns";
+      description = "A `cd' command that learns";
       longDescription = ''
         One of the most used shell commands is “cd”.  A quick survey
         among my friends revealed that between 10 and 20% of all
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/autorandr/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/autorandr/default.nix
index 4a95e0890e9ef..2c7505260a694 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/autorandr/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/autorandr/default.nix
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ in
     '';
 
     meta = {
-      description = "Autorandr, automatic display configuration selector based on connected devices";
+      description = "Automatic display configuration selector based on connected devices";
       homepage = https://github.com/wertarbyte/autorandr;
       maintainer = [ stdenv.lib.maintainers.coroa ];
     };
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/byobu/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/byobu/default.nix
index 6766e0bb474ff..03b3719c9f0ab 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/byobu/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/byobu/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = https://launchpad.net/byobu/;
-    description = "Byobu is a GPLv3 open source text-based window manager and terminal multiplexer.";
+    description = "Text-based window manager and terminal multiplexer";
 
     longDescription =
       ''Byobu is a GPLv3 open source text-based window manager and terminal multiplexer. 
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/aria/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/aria/default.nix
index 4f58463ecf930..f6432f8aa2254 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/aria/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/aria/default.nix
@@ -16,6 +16,6 @@ rec {
       
   name = "aria-" + version;
   meta = {
-    description = "aria - multiprotocol DL manager";
+    description = "Multiprotocol download manager";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/axel/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/axel/default.nix
index 0ee0185094025..8a6d63d164c02 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/axel/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/axel/default.nix
@@ -8,6 +8,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   };
 
   meta = {
-    description = "A console downloading program. Has some features for parallel connections for faster downloading.";
+    description = "Console downloading program with some features for parallel connections for faster downloading";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/bwm-ng/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/bwm-ng/default.nix
index 88460d86730ca..4d18c4adb373d 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/bwm-ng/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/bwm-ng/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ ncurses ];
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "Bandwidth Monitor NG is a small and simple console-based live network and disk io bandwidth monitor.";
+    description = "Bandwidth Monitor NG is a small and simple console-based live network and disk io bandwidth monitor";
     homepage = "http://www.gropp.org/?id=projects&sub=bwm-ng";
     license = licenses.gpl2;
     platforms = platforms.unix;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/chrony/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/chrony/default.nix
index d7fe075705747..d15559961f6bd 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/chrony/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/chrony/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ readline ] ++ stdenv.lib.optional stdenv.isLinux libcap;
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
-    description = "A pair of programs which are used to maintain the accuracy of the system clock on a computer.";
+    description = "Sets your computer's clock from time servers on the Net";
     homepage = "http://chrony.tuxfamily.org/";
     license = licenses.gpl2;
     platforms = platforms.unix;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/p2p/amule/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/p2p/amule/default.nix
index 43de92afe9aaf..44384507a79d5 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/p2p/amule/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/p2p/amule/default.nix
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = {
     homepage = http://amule.org/;
-    description = "aMule, a peer-to-peer client for the eD2K and Kademlia networks";
+    description = "Peer-to-peer client for the eD2K and Kademlia networks";
 
     longDescription = ''
       aMule is an eMule-like client for the eD2k and Kademlia
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/p2p/bit-tornado/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/p2p/bit-tornado/default.nix
index 14e13a17559f1..92458b3d14590 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/p2p/bit-tornado/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/p2p/bit-tornado/default.nix
@@ -19,6 +19,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Bittorrent client with IPv6 support.";
+    description = "Bittorrent client with IPv6 support";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/security/apg/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/security/apg/default.nix
index 28f66e1e49294..2190a1ffbe63d 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/security/apg/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/security/apg/default.nix
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   patches = [ ./apg.patch ];
 
   meta = {
-    description = "A tool set for random password generation.";
+    description = "Tools for random password generation";
     longDescription = ''
       APG (Automated Password Generator) is the tool set for random
       password generation.
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/security/clamav/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/security/clamav/default.nix
index cb32085a8cfe2..ec00137b36f74 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/security/clamav/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/security/clamav/default.nix
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     homepage = http://www.clamav.net;
-    description = "an open source (GPL) antivirus engine designed for detecting Trojans, viruses, malware and other malicious threats.";
+    description = "Antivirus engine designed for detecting Trojans, viruses, malware and other malicious threats";
     license = licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.phreedom ];
     platforms = platforms.linux;
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/tex/auctex/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/tex/auctex/default.nix
index 9774d7d1a9486..3a8b41da66090 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/tex/auctex/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/tex/auctex/default.nix
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation ( rec {
   name = "${pname}-${version}";
 
   meta = {
-    description = "AUCTeX is an extensible package for writing and formatting TeX files in GNU Emacs and XEmacs.";
+    description = "Extensible package for writing and formatting TeX files in GNU Emacs and XEmacs";
     homepage = http://www.gnu.org/software/auctex;
   };